Predators' little blueliners make big impression on Jordan Subban

Jordan Subban’s eyes were wide as saucers for good reason Tuesday in Nashville. Not only did the Predators take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference final series with the Anaheim Ducks following an exhilarating and ear-splitting 2-1 triumph in the raucous Bridgestone Arena, Subban took stock of how the ever-changing National Hockey League game could help punch his ticket with the Vancouver Canucks.

Small in stature but big in talent, Ryan Ellis is an inspiration to Jordan Subban.

Ryan Ellis was proof of that.

The Predators defenceman is generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, and the 26-year-old spark plug was effective in all three zones Tuesday. The 11th selection in the 2009 draft logged 23:36 of ice time, had nine shots, two hits, and played like he was shot out of a cannon. His 10 points (4-6) in 13 playoff games — after amassing career highs with 16 goals and 38 points in 71 regular-season games — were just three behind blueline scoring leader Erik Karlsson heading into play Wednesday night.

“It’s just his positioning and decision-making in his own zone,” Subban said of Ellis’s exploits.

“Anaheim has some bigger forwards, but he doesn’t put himself in position to where he has to battle and get involved physically with those guys. He’s smart about it.

“It’s just the little things you notice because he doesn’t spend too much time in his own zone, and Anaheim wasn’t able to sustain much offensive-zone time because of the Nashville defence. They just transition the puck so fast and it’s always down their (opposition’s) throats.

“The best way to defend is to not defend at all, and you can learn a lot just by watching. And it’s a lot different to be here in person and use it as a learning experience. I had good seats and I was close to the glass and able to see every little thing. And Nashville is so loud. It’s how you communicate in your own zone and how you play when you’re tired.

“And watching P.K. (Subban) play against the top line is something. That’s not easy, and he has kind of simplified his game and is not doing as much as he has done in the past.”

It’s why the Predators’ back end had amassed a league-high 36 points in 14 postseason games — including a whopping 10 goals — following their Tuesday triumph. It’s also why any added offence to the back end in Vancouver will be welcomed like a sunny summer, because the Canucks received just 22 goals from their blueliners this season.

For the 22-year-old Subban — whose 5-foot-9 frame is talked about more than booming one-time slappers off cross-ice feeds that have popped off goalies’ water bottles — all this is encouraging and somewhat daunting.

A debatable dedication to defence is often referenced as to why the 2013 fourth-round pick has yet to play an NHL regular-season game after two seasons with the Utica Comets.

Jordan Subban has a lot to prove to Canucks coach Travis Green, former Comets bench boss.

Subban did have a career-high 16 goals — including 10 on the power play — this season, and an appearance in the American Hockey League All-Star Game did register on some level. But unless Luca Sbisa is an expansion-draft claim, or the Canucks get bold on the trade front with Chris Tanev, cracking the roster is going to be tough.

Nikita Tryamkin has bolted to the KHL, but Erik Gudbranson is back from wrist surgery and Olli Juolevi will get every chance to make the team. And if the Canucks select a defenceman with the fifth pick in the June draft, Subban will have to make a serious push for a roster spot now rather than later.

“It’s nice to pop a water bottle, but my goal is to just get shots through traffic, and you don’t even have to shoot it as hard to get tips,” said Subban. “There is room for smaller defencemen if you can skate and shoot and defend, and I think I’ve done a great job improving my defence.”

Subban has often cited smaller defencemen like Sami Vatanen (5-foot-10, Anaheim), Torey Krug (5-foot-9, Boston) and Jared Spurgeon (5-foot-9, Minnesota) and Troy Stecher (5-foot-10, Vancouver) as examples of blueliners who are thriving. But even though Subban has a familiarity with new Canucks coach Travis Green — and Nolan Baumgartner, who’s expected to be named an assistant — he doesn’t have a leg up on anything. He has been challenged to get better and stronger this summer.

“Travis is an honest guy and he’s going to take the best players available,” Subban said of the former Comets bench boss.

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